Fred W. Hill, 92, of Walla Walla, Wash., a former Baker County Extension agent and longtime supporter of the Pendleton Round-Up, died April 22, 2005, at St. Mary Medical Center at Walla Walla.
His funeral will be May 6 at the Pendleton Episcopal Church. There will be a Celebration of Life party afterward at the Let ‘Er Buck Room on the Round-Up Grounds in Pendleton.
Fred was born on Feb. 15, 1913, at Helix to James and Beulah Rankin Hill. The family moved to Pendleton when he was 5.
He was a member of the 1931 Pendleton High School State Champion basketball team. He received a basketball scholarship to Oregon State University at Corvallis and played on the first Oregon State team to win the West Coast Championship.
After graduation, he worked as a county agent in Baker City where he met his wife, Jean Silven. The couple eloped and were married on Christmas Day in 1937.
Within several years they moved back to the family ranch in Juniper Canyon near Helix. They remained there until they built a home in Pendleton in 1968.
Fred was involved in the Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon for many years. He was on the Round-Up Board and was especially fond of his tenure as Indian director. He and Chief Clarence Burke were great friends.
He served as president of the Round-Up in 1960-61. He was honored as grand marshal of the Westward Ho Parade in 1994. He served as the temporary chairman of the Round-Up Hall of Fame Committee in 1979. The committee’s dream of a separate museum is under construction.
Fred served as Umatilla County chairman for Tom McCall for Governor. He was appointed to the Oregon Highway Commission in 1967 and served for six years.
Jean Hill died in 1986. Fred married Shirley Gardner Carey and moved to Walla Walla. The couple spent winters in Hawaii for many years.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Jim and Beulah; and his brother, James.
Survivors include his wife, Shirley of Walla Walla; his daughter, Terry of Portland; a son and daughter-in-law, Fritz and Karen of Pendleton; grandsons, Jason, and his wife, Janelle, and Winston; a sister, Isabelle Turner of Portland; and stepchildren, Kim Johnson and Eli Whitney.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Round-Up Hall of Fame.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, April 29, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor